method of treating articles made prom pulp



April 1 1924. 1,489,001 I H. PARKER ET AL METHOD OF TREATING ARTICLES MADE FROM PULP Filed Oct. 3. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 1 1924.

H. PARKER ET AL METHOD OF TREATING ARTICLES MADE FROM PULP Filed Oct. 5. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1 1924.

H. PARKER ET AL METHOD OF TREATING ARTICLES MADE FROM PULP Filed Oct. 3 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ll atented l,

snrnn, ASSIEGNQES T BROWN GGMPM'Y, 01F I LPGRTLANTD, MAINE, A fiGEP-QEATEQE? METHUD OF TWTXNG ARTICLES Emil PULP Continuation of application Serial No. 162,513, filed April 17, 1917. is implication filed @etoher 3, .1921. Serial Itio. %,103.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HOWARD PARKER and Detroit l3. BROWN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Berlin, in the county s of Coos, State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the Methods of Treating Articles Made from Pulp, of which the following is a s ecii'ication.

his application is a continuation of our a plication, Serial No. 162,813, filed April 1?, 1917, for method of and ayparatus for treating articles made from pu p.

This invention relates particularly to is method for impregnating walls of pulp pipes, tubes or similar articles, with a ma terial having certain desired characteristics such, for instance, as water-proofing and electrical insulating qualities.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic layout, in plan, of the installation of the apparatus,

Fig. 2 is an end view, partly in transverse section, of what is shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing more or less conventionally the means for governing the temperature of the impregnating material.

This invention has been developed in no connection with the treating of articles made or pulp, for instance, pulp pipes or tubes or similar articles. Such a ipe may be formed by winding a sheet of pu p on a mandrel until a wall of suflicient thickness has been formed, then removin the pipe from the mandrel and thoroug ily drying it. The pipe must then he treated in such manner as the use to which it is to he gout may determine. It used as a conduit for electrical as wiring, its walls must be thoroughly impregnated with a di-electric and it must also he waterprooi. if it should he used e it must he thoroughly waterinvention has to do solely tuhes so that they plied. for the duty for which and for convenience e considered in any suitahle manner. Each of the units comprises a charging tank 5 adapted to cominunicate with the storage tank a and a treating tank 0 communicating, as hereinafter described, with the charging tank. The treating tanks are of such size that a large number of pipes canhe treated at the same time, these pipes being supported in suitable cages d, the top and bottom walls of which are perforated as shown. These cages, with the tubes therein, are adapted to be lowered into and removed from the tanks by a crane or the like. It is of course understood that the covers lifl of the treating tanks are removalole, and preferably these covers are somewhat dome shaped so that gases may collect therein.

Positioned in each charging tank is a pump 11 continuously driven by a motor 12 or otherwise. Each pump 11 has an intake 13 opening into the charging tank 0 in which it is located, and the discharge end of the pump is connected with a pipe 1% which discharges into the treating tank its upper end and is so arranged that the ma'mrial passing out ofjthe pipe is projected substantially tangentially into the tank so as ,to have an initial circumferential or whirling action. 15 is a pipe leading from a multi way cock in in the pipe 14: to the storage tank a. 17 designates a pipe leading from the storage. tank to a multi-way cock 18 in the intake of the pump. The fluid passes from the bottom of the treating tank to its charging tanlr through a large pipe 19. it will be seen that with this arrangement, to charge the treating tank, the valves l6 and 18 are turned so that the pump will draw the treating iluid from the storage tank a through the pipe 17 and force it into the treating tanl-r through the pipe 14.

the treating tank has been charged, t 18 is turned to shut off the pipe 7 the inlet side he pump shar tanlr Eli ill)

completely emptied before the cover is taken off and thus any loss of the impregnating material, due to vaporization, is eliminated. It has been found that the best results are obtained by removing the impregnating material from the bottom of the treating tank and introducing it with whirling action at the top.

It is essential that the treatment of the pulp tubes be carried out substantially at a uniform pressure and that a proper supply of the treating material to the treating tank be maintained so that the tubes will always be covered. To these ends, the bottom of each of the treating tanks is connected to what may be termed a pressure line 22 into which the treating fluid is pumped from the storagetank a by a positively acting pressure pump 23 the pump 23 being connected by a pipe 24 to the pressure line, The pressure line, at a point adjacent to that at which the impregnating material is supplied thereto, is provided with a discharge pipe 25 leading back to the storage tank a, and in this discharge pipe 25 is a. pressure regulator of any suitable type. This pressure regulator may be in the form of a. relief valve as, or similar apparatus, which can be either manually set to maintain the proper pressure in the pressure line, or which may be automatically controlled through suitable devices. Eachoil the treating tanks is connected to the pressure line by a branchpipe 27 provided with a one-we cook 28 so that any one of the treating tan may be cut oh from the pressure line when the treating tanks are being charged or emptied.

With this arrangement it will be seen that there is a continuous flow of impregnating material through the pressure line and the pressure within this line or pipe and all the treating tanks communicating with this pipe is maintained uniform by the regulating device 26. In the event of excess pressure within the pressure line, the regulator 26 will open allowing more of the fluid to flow back into the storage tank, and, if the pressure falls in the pressure line below a predetermined degree, the pressure regulator 26 will prevent any impregnating material going back into the storage tank until the pressure is again built up. It will be found that the pulp tubes being treated will absorb considerable amounts or" the impregnating ma terial but this loss is automatically taken care of by the supply through the pressure line. Also it is found that gases are given ofi in the treatment of the pulp tubes but these gases which accumulate in the upper parts of the tanks do not disturb the pressure within the treating tanks for they merely force the impregnating material back into the pressure line.

For the purpose of maintaining the impregnating material in a fluid state, the stormeanest age tank and each or the treating and charging tanks are heated by steam coils located within them. In the present instance, the heating apparatus within the storage tank comprises an upper and lower header 30, 31, respectively, connected by tubes 32. The upper header is connected by a pipe 33*:0 the steam supply pipe 34:. The heating coils 36, 36 within the treating tanks and. charging tanks, respectively, are connected by branch pipes to a common live steam line 35 which in turn is connected to the supply pip 34. The exhaust steam pipe of the stor age tank leads through a condenser. drum 38 to a hot water well 39, The coils 36 and 36 of each unit are connected by a pipe 40 to exhaust steam pipes 41. In each of the pipes 40 is a condenser chamber or drum 4:2.

It is of extreme importance that the temperature in the treating tanks be maintained approximately uniform in order that the impregnating material shall be in the proper state of fluidity to most rapidly enter the wall of a pipe, but at the same time care must be taken that the heat is not suiiiciently great to burn the fibers from which the pipe is made up, or cause the wall to split and laminate. For this reason each of the treating tanks is provided with separate means for automatically controlling the temperature of the impregnating material therein, and while this automatic means may be of any suitable kind or type, we have shown it, in the present instance, as being effected by governing the supply of steam to the coils 36, 36, and by controlling the release of the water of condensation from these coils, as follows: llnterposed in each oil the steam inlet pipes 37 is a valve 43 coptrolled by variations in. the temperature of the impregnating material in the charging tank with which the particular valve 43 is associated. lnterposedin each of the exhaust pipes 40 is a valve l4: controlled by variations in the temperature of the water of condensation within the condenser; drum or chamber 42 with which the particular valve 44 is associated. In the present instance, the control of the valves 43 and 441 is efi'ected through the temperature regulator shown more particularly in Fig. 3. Positioned within each charging tank is a mercury or its other bulb 50 connected by a conduit 51 to a Fill t ll

manner valve 43, thereby closing this valve so as to cut ed the supply of steam to the heating coils 36, 36. When the temperature tails below the above-mentioned predetermined degree, the valve 53 will he allowed to close and the spring of the valve 43 will cause the latter to open and again allow steam to flow to the heating coils. When the temperature of the water of condensation in the condenser drum 42 falls below a predetermined degree the thermostatic device 58 with which this chamber is provided and which is similar to that indicated at 50, will operate the diaphragm 59 and thereby lower the valve 60 and shut ed the flow of air under pressure to the pipe 61 thereby relieving the air pressure on diaphragm connected to the valve id. The spring of this valve will now cause this valve to open so as to allow the water of condensation to flow out oi the condensing drum 42. it will he obvious that as the steam passes through the condensing chamloer 42 the temperature thereof will he raised above a predetermined degree and the result is that the valve 60 will be raised into opened position and the air pressure will act on the diaphragm of the valve i l against the sprung thereof to bring the valve ll to its normal position corresponding to the predetermined temperature at which the device is set. ll desired, the temperature of the impregnating material within the storage tank may be controlled hy connecting up with the valve 65 and the condenser 38 an arrangement such as is shown in Fig. 3 and which has just been described.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes we have described the principics or operation of our invention together with one embodiment oi" an apparatus which is admirably adapted for carrying out our improved method of treating, but we desire to have it clearly understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and the invention can be carried out loy other means.

We claim as our invention 1. lhat improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the im regnating material in a tank containing tie articles hy introducing said impregnating material tangentially to said tank, and supplying heat to the tank.

2. That improvement in the art of treating articlesmade from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material; in a tank containing the articles,

supplying heat tothe tank, and automatically governing the heat supply by varia tions in the temperature of the impregnating material.

3. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly circulating the impregnating terial through a tank containing the articles to he treated, by removing the impregnating material from the lower end of said tank and reintroducing it at the top of said tank with an initial circular flow.

i. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly circulating the impregnating material through a tank containing the articles to be treated, supplying heat to the tank, and automatically governing the heat supply by variations in the temperature of the impregnating material.

5. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in introducing the impregnating material substantially tangentially into the tanlr con taining the articles to be treated and the top thereof, and in removing the impregnating material from the center of the lower end of said tank whereby a maximum swirling movement of the impregnating material is obtained.

6. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material in a tank containing the articles, supplying heat to the tank, and maintain ing said impregnating material within the tank at a uniform pressure. 7. That improvement in the art of. treat mg articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material in a tank containing the articles, supplying heat to the tank, maintaining the tank in open communication with a supply of impregnating material, and maintaining said supply of impregnating ma rial substantially at a constant pressure.

8. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material in a tank containing the articles, supplying heat to the tank, automatically governing the heat supply by variations in the temperature of the impregnating material, maintainin said tank in communication with a supp y of impregnating mate rial, and automatically maintaining said supply of impregnating material and the tank in communication therewith at uniform pressure.

9. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material in a tank containing the articles by taking the impregnating material out of the bottom of the tank and reintroducing it at the top of and tangentially to said tanlr, supplying heat to said tank, and automatcally maintaining'said impregnating mate rial substantially at a constant pressure.

10. That improvement in the art of treating articles made from pulp, which consists in constantly agitating the impregnating material in a plurality oi tanks, supplying an W9 I g oveming 1 0f emh L variai. m the Uemperature of the impregnating term} in the res active ills, aummati- Cally simultaneously maintaining; the impregnating material all 01? said RZQKEEE substancmiiy M; a unifcarm pressum.

11. That impmvem'amt in the m. 0)? ing articles mime from pulp, which cwnsisils mg the impragnating material con- (i a? wink Whlfiethe ariziclea t0 be we immexsad therein, and supplying mpmggnacing material undw uniform in said flank E30 maintain the prese impregnating material Within suhfifismtiafly at a unifmm pfessum.

RD PARK @RTQN BRQWN. 

